Christian Thomas Kohl The Metaphysical Foundations of Buddhism and Modern Science
Christian Thomas Kohl The Metaphysical Foundations of Buddhism and Modern Science
Christian Thomas Kohl The Metaphysical Foundations of Buddhism and Modern Science
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
When a general idea has been obtained, it should not be arbitrarily<br />
limited to the topic <strong>of</strong> its origination.<br />
In framing a philosophic scheme, each metaphysical notion should be<br />
given the widest extension <strong>of</strong> which it seems capable. It is only in this<br />
way that the true adjustment <strong>of</strong> ideas can be explored. More important<br />
even that Occam's doctrine <strong>of</strong> parsimony – if it be not another aspect <strong>of</strong><br />
the same – is this doctrine that the scope <strong>of</strong> a metaphysical principle<br />
should not be limited otherwise than by the necessity <strong>of</strong> its meaning.<br />
Thus we should balance Aristotle's – or, more rightly, Plato's – doctrine<br />
<strong>of</strong> becoming by a doctrine <strong>of</strong> perishing. When they perish, occasions pass<br />
from the immediacy <strong>of</strong> being into the not-being <strong>of</strong> immediacy. But that<br />
does not mean that they are nothing. <strong>The</strong>y remain 'stubborn fact': -<br />
Pereunt et imputantor.<br />
<strong>The</strong> common expressions <strong>of</strong> mankind fashion the past for us in three<br />
aspects, - Causation, Memory, <strong>and</strong> our active transformation <strong>of</strong> our<br />
immediate past experience into the basis <strong>of</strong> our present modification <strong>of</strong><br />
it. Thus 'perishing' is the assumption <strong>of</strong> a role in a transcendent future.<br />
115